We recently moved from Pennsylvania to Texas and entered what we will refer to in years to come as our “fiery furnace season.” Not only did we have to adjust to the Texas heat, but so many of our plans fell through, causing us all to suffer, especially our younger son who has autism. He moved away from a team of amazing therapists and teachers, and into a school that didn’t meet his needs in the way that we were used to. It was hard to see him suffer like that.
We prayed and prayed. “God, open up an opportunity for the therapy he needs. Help calm his anxiety at school and at home. Bring people into our lives who can guide us through this new system. Help him sleep through the night so we can all sleep through the night. Allow him to learn new words so he can communicate his needs. Please God, help him.”
We prayed for him and hoped God would answer our prayers, but would He answer the way we wanted Him to?
In the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were put into the furnace as a punishment for not bowing down to the king. They hoped God would save them, but they didn’t know for sure that He would:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18 (emphasis mine)
In times of suffering, how do we find hope again? How do we learn to say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “God will answer our prayers, but if not, I will still worship Him”?
We remind ourselves it’s not the results of our prayers that we have hope in, but the One who hears our prayers.
We trust in God who has our best interests in mind. He has a perfect plan for our lives and our boys’ lives, and in that we can trust. It’s higher and better than our plans, even the seasons of suffering.
Hold on to that hope when you feel your prayers aren’t being answered. He loves you and is working all things out for your good and your family’s good! As Tim Keller says, “If we knew what God knows, we would ask exactly for what he gives.” Thank God for the hope He provides even when He seems quiet.
Resources:
- Holding On to Hope: A Pathway through Suffering to the Heart of God by Nancy Guthrie
- Hope for the Weary Mom by Brooke McGlothlin and Stacey Thacker
- Everyday Hope: Holding Fast to His Promise by Katie Orr
This was just the meaage I needed exactly when I needed it….
I love the message right at the very bottom – As Tim Keller says, “If we knew what God knows, we would ask exactly for what he gives.” I’m so grateful for this message today!
My heart has been aching this past month in only a way an autism mom knows. Sleepless nights, regression in speech, anxiety… well, you already know. I’ve been digging everywhere for a message of hope especially for an autism mom and by the pure grace of God I stumbled on your blog and found just what my weary soul needed. Thank you, thank you so much.